Cipher type-writer.



K. AMMON.

GIPHER TYPE WRITER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.3,1914 p .11 Patented Dec. 15, 1914.

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K. AMMON.

GIPHER TYPE WRITER.

APPLICATION 1mm JAN. 3, 1914.

Patented Dec. 15, 1914.

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UNI 1i KARL AMllCEON, 0F BEBLIN-TEMPELHOE, GERMANY.

CIPHER TYPE-WRITER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedDec. 15,1914.

Application filed January 3, 1914. Serial No. 810,164.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, KARL AMMON, citizen ofthe Empire of Germany, residing at Ber- ]inerstrasse 48,Berlin-Tempelhoi, in the Empire of Germany, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Cipher Type- Writers, of which the following is aspecification. 1

This invention relates to a device for adjusting the type-carriers ofcipher typewriters of that kind in which the type-carrier has impartedto it a movement in addition to its normal movement for the purpose ofreplacing one and the same letter as frequently as possible by anotherand in this manner rendering the deciphering of the cipherby'unauthorized persons very diilicult if not impossible. The additionalmovement of the type-carrier may be an additional rotatory movement oran axial displacement. In the latter case cylindrical type-carrierswill, as a rule, be employed, on the periphcry of which a number of rowsof letters are arranged displaced relatively to one another.

A- primary object of this invention is to provide an improved device foradjusting the type-carriers of the kind last described.

' Devices known heretofore intended to serve a similar purpose are verycomplicated. The cost of manufacture and the selling cost areconsequently great. Typewriters of'customary standard constructionshave, as it is, so many interengaging parts" that when it is desired toutilize such typewriters for cipher purposes the principal aim must beto adapt the existing parts as much as possible to the new purpose andto avoid the addition of new parts as much as possible.

The problem oi axially shifting a cylindrical type-carrier of the kinddescribed above is solved according to the invention in a very simplemanner. Namely, I arrange with which a member, e. g. a lever, coacts;this lever is operatively connected in such manner with thetype-carrierthat when the lever rocks it causes the type-carrier to beaxially displaced. In a preferred form of the invention the leverengages in succession various steps formed on a bar which is movablycarried on the frame of the typewriter. The changed position of thelever causes an axial displacement of the type-carrier and consequentlya new row of letters on the periphery of the type-carrier is adjusted tothe height at which the types can print.

Further the stepped bar is preferhbly formed in such'manner that theheights of the individual steps correspond to the place values. whichthe letters of a code have in the alphabet.

One illustrative embodiment/of the invention is diagrammaticallyrepresented by way of example in the accompanying drawing,

wherein 1 Figure 1 1s a d1agrammat1c perspective view of a ciphertypewriter according to the invention, Fig. 2'is a diagram showing thestepped bar, and Fig. 3 is a development of the type-carrier. Referringto the drawinggthe typewriter comprises a keyboard having keys J onlyone of which is shown for the sake of clearness. WVhen 'one of the keysis depressed, one of the inclined faces of the slide 1 is struck by thecorresponding key and consequently the slide 1 is shifted to the left orto the right and turns the type-carrier 2 a predetermined amount bymeans of a rack formed on the slide 1 which meshes with a gear wheel 1.The U-member 3, which is mounted to rock about the bar 3* is drivendownward by the key and strikes a projection 4 on the stem of thetype-carrier, so that the latter is swung toward the platen 5. Thiskey-actuated printing mechanism is lmown. As Fig. 3 shows, thecylindrical type-carrier 2 has preferably twenty-five rows of lettersarranged one above another each of which, in the illustrativeembodiment, is a complete alphabet except that the letterj is omitted. Thistype-carrier 2 is movable axially, so that any one of the alphabets on.the carrier may be brought to its working position. i. e. to the correctelevation for printing.

According to my invention the axial displacement of the type-carrier 2is controlled on the frame of the typewriter a stepped bar y a bar 6which has as many steps 6 (Fig. 2) as there are alphabets on thetype-car- 'rier, i. e. in the present case twenty-five. In theillustrative embodiment these steps 6 are held together by means of arod 7 and. a nut 7* (Fig. 2'). Each step 6 corresponds to apredetermined alphabet of: the typecarrier 2. The position of the latteris controlled by means of the bar 6 as follows One end of aspring-influenced lever 8, which has its pivot point in S, coacts withthe stepped bar 6 either laterally, (as shown in Fig. 2) or verticallyrelatively to the bar (as represented in Fig. 1). Theother end of thelever 8 coacts with a second lever 9, with which the lower end of theaxle of the type-carrier 2 engages. Whenever pressure is exerted on anyone of the keys J, the end of the lever 8 which coacts with the bar '6will be swung down by a special mechanism which will be more fullydescribed hereinafter and: consequently will be moved out of engagementwith the steps 6*. At

the same time the opposite end of the lever 8 which coa'cts with thelever 9 will be raised thus swinging it upward, thereby raising theaxlelO and with it the type carrier 2. As soon as the pressure on thelever 8 is released it will return to its normal position, andconsequently the end of the lever 8 co- .acting with the stepped bar 6swings upward. As, howeverfjthe stepped bar 6 has meanwhile changeditsposition in a manner which will more fully-'be described hereinafter,the lever 8 will engage a new step. At the same time the member 2 willmove downward by gravity following the movement of the lever 9, whichitself is controlled by the movement of the coacting end of the lever 8.The type-carrier 2 now occupies a new position and when a new key J ispressed, a new rowof letters will he brought into action.

I will now describe the manner in which the lever 8 as well as thestepped bar 6 are moved :'Ihe stepped bar 6 is connected by means of atoothed rack 11 with a train of toothed wheels 11, 12, 13 and 14. Thistrain ofwheels in controlled by the spring 15 and tends to shift the bar6 to the left, but is normally prevented from so doing by a feedmechanism 18 which normally engages'with the teeth of a rack 19 of thepaper carriage and holds the paper carriage which is connected by meansof a cord 16 or thelike with a rotatable member controlled by the spring15. The space-bar 20 which is carried by the lever 20 mounted on the bar3 is adapted to actuate the feed mechanism 18 and is struck after a keyhas been depressed. When this space-bar is depressed it not onlyactuates the feed mechanism 18 thus allowing the paper carriage to moveone step under the infinence of the driving spring 15, but it alsodrives the rod 21 downward and the lever 8 is thereby moved fromengagement' with the bar 6 which bar will be moved one step to the leftunder the influence of the train of wheels driven by the spring 15 It isnot possible for the bar to move more than one step owing to the actionof the feed mechanism 18 which at once arrests the travel of thepaper-carriage and the movement of the train of wheels. after thespace-bar has been struck the lever 8 occupies a new position and thetype-carrier 2 has been shifted into a new axial p0- sition.

On a key'J being depressed there will be Consequently,

printed a character in that alphabet which corresponds to the step 6with which the lever 8 is in engagement.

Preferably each line of written text will contain exactly as manyletters as there are steps 6 on the bar 6 or rows of letters on thetype-carrier, so that a different row of'letters will be employed foreach letter in a line. It is of course to be understood that the numberof steps or rows of letters and the number of letters in one row maydiffer As mentioned above, the stepped bar 6 is preferably designed sothat the steps 6 vary in height corresponding to the lace-values whichthe letters of a code have in the alphabet. In Fig. 2 such a code isshown and un-' der'it are marked the place values which the individualletters have in the alphabet. If the lever 8 coacts, for example, withthe first step designated 0 fourteenth alphabet on the type-carrier willbe printed and so on.

When it is desired cipher it is only necessary to insert into themachine a suitable translating type-carrier having a like number ofalphabets arranged in a different order, while the stepped bar remainsthe ame as when writing the cipher. It may be mentioned, in addition,that the bar 6 can be readily removed at any time so that stepped barsmade according-to various other codescan be employed.

Iclaim: I r 1. In a cipher typewriter, in combination. an axle movablein. the direction of its length, a type-carrier supported thereon andhaving aplurality of rows of types arran ed one above another, keyactuated mechanism for rotating said axle, and moving said car-v rierinto printing position, a carriage, means for moving said carriagein thedirection of its length, feed mechanism. to control the movement of saidcarriage, a movable stepped member operatively connected to said means,and means controlled by said stepped member for controlling thelengthwise movement of said axle.

2. In a cipher typewriter,

1n Fig. '2 a letter in the to translate a printed in combination,

' from that in the embodiment shown without departing from the scope ofthe invention;

an axle movable in the direction of its length,

a type-carrier supported thereon and having a plurality of rows oftypes. arranged one above another, a carriage, means for moving saidcarriage in the direction of its length, feedmechanism to control themovement of said carriage, a movable stepped member operativelyconnected to said means controlled by said stepped member forcontrolling the lengthwise movement of said axle.

3. In a cipher typewriter, in combination,

an axle movable in the direction of its length,

a type-carrier supported thereon and having means, and" a plurality ofrows of types arranged one above another, a carriage, means for movingsaid carriage in the direction of its length feed mechanism to controlthe movement oi said carriage, a movable stepped member operativelyconnected to said means, a lever supporting said axle, and meanscontrolled by said stepped member and engaging said lever for varyingthe position thereof thereby causing lengthwise movement of said axle,said stepped member moving one step at each actuation of said feedmechanism.

a. In a cipher typewriter, in combination, an axle movable in thedirection of its length, a type-carrier supported thereon and having aplurality of rows of types arranged one above another, a carriage, meansfor moving said carriage in the direction of its length. feed mechanismto control the movement 0'? said carriage, a movable stepped memberoperatively connected to said means, a lever supporting said axle, asecond lever engaging said first mentioned lever and said steppedmember, means for actuating said feed mechanism, and means controlled bysaid last mentioned means for moving said second lever out of engagementwith said;

stepped member at each actuation of feed'mechanism.

5. In a cipher typewriter, in combination, an axle movable in thedirection of its length, type-carrier supported thereon and having aplurality of rows of types arranged one above another, a carriage, meansfor moving said carriage in the direction of its length, feed mechanismto control the movement of said carriage, a movable stepped memberoperatively connected to said means, and means controlled by saidstepped member for controlling the lengthwise movement of said axle, thesteps of said stepped member being arranged as to their height tocorrespond to the place values which the letters of the code have in thealphabet.

6. In a cipher typewriter, in combination,

an axle movable in the direction of its length, I

a type-carrier supported thereon and having a plurality of rows of typesarranged one above another, a carriage, means for moving said carriagein the direction of its length, feed mechanism to control the move mentof said carriage, a movable stepped member operatively connected to saidmeans, and means controlled by said stepped member for controlling thelengthwise movement of said axle, the number of steps in said steppedmember being equal to the number of'rows of types on said carrier.

7. In a cipher typewriter, in combination, an axle movable in thedirection of its length, a type-carrier supported thereon and having aplurality of rows of types arranged one-abovc another, a carriage, meansfor moving said carriage in the direction of its length, feed mechanismto control the movement of said carriage, a movablestepped memberoperatively connected to said means, and means controlled by saidstepped member for controlling the lengthwise movement of said axle, thenumber of steps in said stepped member being equal to the number of rowsof types on said carrier, the steps being arranged as to their height tocorrespond to the place values which the letters of the code have in thealphabet.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

KARL AMMON. Witnesses:

WOLDEMAR HAUPT, HENRY HASPER.

